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COIVI. ON \m\l\H Mti-m-or 

- •• "'-•■^■S SENATE. 




Tlje_ Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom was referred the bill 
(S. 28/0) "to ratify and contirm an agreement witli tlie Olierokee Nation 
ot Iiidnins of tlie Indian Territory, to make apjiropriatiim for carrviuff 
out the same, and for other purposes," haviuo- considered the same, 
make the following rejtort: 

The "Cherokee Outlet," so called, a body of lands adioiuiug the State 
ot Kansas on the south, of about 60 miles in widtli, west of the ninety- 
sixth meridian of longtitude, containing (>,0l{2,754.11 acres, has long 
been a subject of contention, the Cherokee Indians, on the one hand 
claiming an unextinguished title thereto under treaties and a patent in 
fee simple executed in 1838, while, on the other hand, parties desirinr 
to settle on tlu^se lands claimed that the Cherokee Nation had only an 
easement in the "Outlet" for the purpose of reaching hunting grounds 
farther west. Under this claim settlers have, from time to time, gone 
upim these lands, but have been ejected therefrom by the (Government 
as have been cattle men to wliom the Cherokee Nation leased the lands' 
so that at the present time they are practically unoccupied. ' 

A commission was appointed by the President, under and by author- 
ity ot an act of Congress approved March 2, 1889, to negotiate with 
all Imlians who claimed or owned lands in the Indian Territory for 
the cession thereof to the United States. 

After concluding negotiations with other tribes of Indians this com- 
mission entered upon negotiations with the Cherokee Indians, which 

resultedman agTeementfortherelinquishmentof any interesttheymight 
have m and to the " Outlet " lands to the United States, including, also 
the surrender ot any title that they had in andt(» the kinds east of the 
ninety-sixth meridian not embraced within their home countrv 
amounting m all to 8,144,632.91 acres, for the net sum t.»be paid to the 
said Indians of 18,595,736.12. ^ 

If all this purchase money should be applied to the " Outlet" lands 
alone the price per acre would be $1,427. But as lands occupied by 
friendly Indians east of the ninety-sixth meridian are also included the 
price per acre f<)r the " Outlet " lands alone would be, according to the 
estimate of the Commission, 11.294. 

Your committee believes that it is desirable that this money should 
be paid and that the relinquishment of title should be obtained But 
the agreement made with the Cherokee Indians contains certain condi- 



2 AGREEMENT WITH THE CHEROKEE INDIANS. 






tions to be fultilled by the United States wbicli, in tbe opiuiou of the 
committee, need modification. 

The agreement made with the Indians provides that for and in con- 
sideration of such cession the United States agree, in article 2 — 

First. That all persou.s now resident, or who may hereafter become residents, In 
the Cherokee Nation, and who are not recognized as citizens of the Cherokee Na- 
tion by the eonstitnted authorities thereof, and who are not in the eniploj'ment ot 
the Cherokee Nation, or in the employment of citizens of the Cherokee Nation in 
conformity with the laws thereof, or in the empluyjiient of the United States (iov- 
ernmeut, and all citizens of the United States who are not resident in the Cherokee 
Nation under the provisions of treaty or acts of Congress, shall lie deemed and held 
to be intruders and unauthorized persons, within the intent and meaning of section 
six of the treaty of 1835, and sections twenty-six and twenty-seven of the treaty 
of July 19, 186t), and shall, together with their personal elfects. be removed without 
delay from the limits of said nation by the United States as trespassers, upon the de- 
mand of the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. In such removal, no houses, 
barns, outbuildings, fences, orchards, growing crops, or other chattels real, being 
attached to the soil and belonging to the Cherokee Nation, the owner of the laud, 
shall be removed, damaged, or destroyed, unless it shall become necessary in order 
to effect the removal of such trespassers: Provided, alwaij^s, That nothing in this 
section shall be so construed as to atfect in any manner the rights of any persons 
in the Cherokee Nation under the ninth article of the treaty of July 11', 1866. 

The question of the removal of intruders from the lands belonging to 
the Cherokee Nation within their home c<mntry has long been a 
serious one, and for a correct understanding needs a somewhat careful 
explanation. 

By article <! of the treaty of 183.") it was provided that they (the 
Cherokees) — 

shall be protected against interruptions and intrusions from citizens of the United 
States who may attempt to settle in the country without their consent ; and all such 
l>ersons shall V>e removed from the same by order of the President of the United 
States. But this is not intended to prevent the residence among them of useful 
farmers, mechanics, and teachers for the instruction of Indians according to treaty 
stipulations. 

In article liO of the treaty of 1866 it is provided that they (the Chero- 
kees) — 

shall also be i)rotected against interruptions or intrusions from all unauthorized 
citizens of the United States who may attempt to settle on their lands or reside in 
their territory. 

And in article 27 of the same treaty it is stipulated — 

* * * and all persons not in the military service of the United States, not citizens 
of the Cherokee Nati<m, are to be prohibited from coming into the Cherokee Nation, 
or remaining in the same, except as herein otherwise provided; and it is the duty of 
the United States Indian agent for the Cherokees to have such persons not lawfully 
residing or sdjourning therein removed frfim the nation, as they now are or hereafter 
may be required bv the Indian intercourse laws of the United States. (14 Stat. L., 
]). 806.) 

Under these treaty i)rovisions the Cherc^kee Nation has claimed an 
exclusive right to determine who should be and who should not be 
regarded as citizens of the Cherokee Nation, 

The Supreme Court of the United States, deciding the case of the 
"Eastern Band of Clicrokee Indians against the United States and 
the Cherokee Nation," lield that— 

If Indians in that State (North Carolina) or any other State east of the Mississippi 
Kiver wished to enjoy the V»enetits of the common property of the Cherokee Nation 
in whatever form it may exist, they must, as held by the Court of Claims, comply 
with the constitution and laws of the Cherokee Nation, and be admitted to citizen- 
ship as there jirovided. (117 U. S., p. 288.) 

Since that decision there seems to have been no question raised in 
the Department of the Interior as to the right of the Cherokee Nation 
to determine for itself the question of citizenship. 



AGREEMENT WITH THE CHEROKEE INDIANS. 3 

A laijie iiuiii)>t'r of persuiits eluimiiig' to be of Cherokee descent, aud 
a smaller nninl)er claiming' rights as descendants of former slaves, have 
come, from time to time, into the ('herokee Xation, o('('U])ied lands, 
made imi)rovements, and are now settled npon snch lands. A Ycav are 
engaged in trade. Snch persons not having been recognized or ad- 
mitted to citizenship by the nation are called " iiitrnders." Their nnm- 
ber at the present time is varionsly estimated at from ."),00(> to 7^000, 
the number of families being somewhere in the neigliljorhood of 1,500. 
They have not l)een admitted to citizenshij*; some of them have been 
rejected; others have made application, which has not been acted 
upon; some, probably, have made no application at all. Technically 
and legally they have no right to the lands wliich they have occupied 
and improved. They claim to be of Cherokee descent or of former slave 
descent, and those who have been rejected claim to have been improp- 
erly rejected. 

Those claiming Cherokee desceot who first came claim to have come 
upon an invitation extended by the Cherokee !ISratiou in 1869 and 1870 
to the North ( 'arolina Cherokee Indians to remove to the Cherokee 
country in the Indian Territory. On the 10th of Decendjer, 1869, the 
national council of the Cherokee Nation adopted a resolution authoriz- 
ing the principal chief to advise the North Carolina Cher<>kee Indians 
of the willingness of the nation to receive such of them as would re- 
move to the Indian Territory without expense to the Cherokee treasury 
ami beconn^ identified as citizens of tlie Cherokee Nation. On Novem- 
ber 2i), 1870, a law was passed by the Cherokee council declaring "that 
all such Cherokees as nmy hereafter remove to the Cherokee Nation, 
and permanently locate therein as citizens thereof, shall be deemed as 
Cherokee citizens," ui)on condition that they should enroll themselves 
before the chief justice of the supreme court of that nation within two 
months after they arrived therein, making satisfactory showing to said 
chief justice of their Cherokee blood. In the pi-eamble of that act was 
the following- language: 

Wliereas by treaty stipulation that class of Cherokees kuowu as North Carolina 
Cherokees are. on their removal and permanent location within the limits of the 
Cherokee Nation, entitled to all the rights and i)rivileges of citizens of the same, etc. 

By a subsequent act passed December 7, 1871, the law was so 
amended as to limit the authority of the chief justice in citizenship 
cases to the taking of testimony, the right of final action being re- 
sei;ved for the national council. 

The determination of the right of citizenship has been based upon 
certain rolls made by the Cherokee Nation, and to entitle persons to 
citizenship the national council has insisted that they must trace 
their descent to some ancestor whose name is on the rolls recognized 
by the council. 

The controversy about citizenship seems to have hinged largely upon 
a case in which one Watts claimed the right of citizenship and was re- 
jected by the council. The Watts family has become the head of that 
class of people who are called ''intruders." Recently an association 
has been formed called the "Watts Citizenship Association," which has 
issued circulars inviting claimants to come to the Cherokee country 
and settle. This association is officered by "Governor" Marion J. 
Watts and Hon. John D. Kelly as presidents, and by secretaries and 
treasurers in different counties. It has appointed delegates to Wash- 
ington, has an attorney in Washington, and in December, 1889, the 
membership was stated as 2,950. It has very much increased since 
that time, and is said to be rapidly increasing in numbers. 



4 AGREEMENT WITH THE (5hER0KEE INDIANS. 

The leliitioiis between the actual citizens of tlie Cherokee Nation and 
the intiiirteis are very nuicli strained and might at any time result in 
violence. The question of the removal of these intruders has been a 
source of mucli controversy between the L)ei)artment of the Interior 
and the authorities of tlie Cherokee Nation since 1874, wlien J. B. 
Jones, the Indian anient, rejtorted the inesence of a large nmnber of 
intnnlers whose remoNal was desired by the authorities. Upon inves- 
tigation the l)ei)art]nent found that a large number of those whose re- 
moval was re(juested as intru(hns ])resente(l prima facie evidence of 
their right to eitizenshii*. 

The committee will not undertake to recite a history of the proceed- 
ings in the I)ei>artmentui>on applications made for the removal of these 
intruders. That history is well set tbrth by Mr. Oberly, Comnnssioner 
of Indian Affairs, in a communication to the Secretary of the Interior 
dated June 7, 1889. 

In April, 1879, the opinion of the Attorney- General was asked upon 
the question — 

Wlietlior, iu cariyiu<; out in ^ood faith tlif provisions of the executory treaties 
named, the United states are hound to regard simply the Cherokee law and its con- 
struction hy the counsel of the nation, and answer the call of the otticers of that 
nation for the removal of all persons whom they may pronounce intruders; or, on 
the contrary, whether, being called on to effect the fonible removal of such alleged 
intruders, the facts upon which the allegation rests may not with projtriety, both 
by virtue of superior and paramount jurisdiction and in obedience to national obli- 
gation, be inquired into and determined by our own national tribunals. 

In reply to this question the Attorney-General expressed the opinion — 

That it is (juite plain that iu executing such treaties the United States are not bound to 
regard simply the Cherokee hfw and its c»»nstruction by the couns»d of the nation, 
but that any department recjuired to renuive alleged intruders must determine for 
itself, under the general law of the land, the existence and extent of the exigency 
upon which such requisition is founded. 

The matter being subse<iuently brought to the attention of Secretary 
Vilas iu the Kestersou case, so called, iu a letter written by him to the 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, August 21. 1888, the Secretary said: 

Having gone there iu apparent good faith upon invitation of the nation, made 
valuable improvements while suffered or permitted to remain there, the Department 
will not cause nor suffer his removal to be made in such sunnuary and sudden man- 
ner as to work great harm and loss to his property and unnecessary inconvenience^ 
and hardship personally to himself and family. He is entitled to the protection of 
the Government of the United States in a proper way as a citizen, as he is not ad- 
mitted to the Cherokees nor under their jurisdiction; and this protection is pecu- 
liarly necessary in such a case. He is entitle<l to a reasonable time and oppor- 
tunity, in vicAv of ail the circumstances of his long residence and lalior there, to 
dispose of his property or remove it. as may be most suitable to its character, and 
to gather his crops noW growing. The proceeding of the Cherokee officers, besides 
being without Jurisdiction, api>ears to have been unreasonably summary and severe. 

The right and duty of removing auy citizen of the United States intruding on the 
Cherokees belongs to this Goverunient, and, as has often been determined, the United 
States authorities must decide whether the exigency be such as to re(iuire that action. 
Tlie Cherokee officials have no authority or jurisdiction to remove the intruder or 
confiscate his }iroperty. They should apply to the agent for his removal. 

In tliis case Kestersou, being no longer under Cherokee license, must be removed 
as an intruder. Ibit his property must be restored to him and reasonable opportu- 
nity given hiui to dispose of or remove it. * * ' 

The agent should be iustrucfed that as this right of Kesterson's to the disposition 
of his property is necessarily short lived, limited, and tenuous, so it should be the 
more ])erfectly considere<l and iirotected, and every circumstance turned rather to 
make it efticacicms and valuable than to weaken or impair it. Kestersou ought to 
have approximately the full, fair value of his property, and the cessation of his status 
in the Territory ought not to be made a means of depriving him of any of his ])rop- 
erty or of its value, except in so far as is unavoidable witli fair consideration. The 
tinie necessary to tliis may vary with circumstances. If attempt be made to take 



A(iRKEMENT WITH THE CHKROKEE INDIANS. O 

uufair advautajif the time should lie extendeil. It apiieais to the Department that 
it should not be limited to less than six mouths in any case. 

So that the decision of the l)ei)artinent seums to have been, that 
while the Cherokee Nation has no ])ower to remove intruder.s, and that 
the p(»wer to leiuovc nnist be exercised by the Tiiited States Crovevn- 
ment, the Government lias the right to determine under what conditions 
the removal shall be ett'ected, and is bound to protect, as far as j^ossible, 
the intruder, a citizen of the United States, from the h)ss of liis prop 
erty which he has acipiired iu the Cherokee country. 
- in carryiiio- out this desire to prot«*ct the intruder from the h)ss of 
hiiij pro]>erty, the (lovernment wouhl uudoubtedly discrinnuate some- 
Avhat between th(»se who seem to have a prima facie right, unacknowl- 
edged by the Cherokee nation, and tho.se wlio could set up no claini of 
right wiiatever, many such doubtless being now on and occupying 
lands of the Cherokee Nation. 

The agreement made betwe<'n the Cherokci' connnission, .so called, 
and the Cherokee Nation contains, as lias already been stated, a stipu- 
lation on the i»art of the Cjiiteil States t» remove all intruders an(l un- 
authorized persons "uiion the demand of the jtrincipal chief of the 
Cherokee Nation." 

If this part of the agreement sliould be ratified, the Cnited Statt's. in 
the o]>inion of tin* committee, would be ]»roperly held by the Cherokee 
Nation to have reliniptished any claim that it had a discretion to de- 
tennini" ujton wliat terms and conditions such intruders sluuihl be re- 
moved, and would be obligated to remove them from their homes and 
their imin-ovements up(»n the mere denmnd of the ]>rincipal chief, with 
an entire loss to them of the value of their im])rovements. 

Such was undoubtedly the intention of the Clierokee Nation in pro- 
curing this clause to be insj-rted in the agreenu-nt, and if in case of 
adoi>tion it .should not be literally and ])romptly <-omi)lietl with by tlie 
United States (l(»vernment would atlbrd ground for the Cherokee Na- 
tion to claim that tlie (iovernment hatl <l«'libei'ately failed to keep its 
agreement. 

In the oi>inion of the coMimittee, the (rovernment ought not to enter 
into such an agreement. Admit that the intruders have no legal right 
upon these lands. It is nevertheless true in many in.stances that they 
came there supposing themselves to have been invited by the Cherokee 
Nation, and supi)0sing that they could maintain their right to be admit- 
ted as citizens. They have made valuable imiuovements. They have 
built houses and established homes, and areas much settled upon these 
lands ami in those homes as any persons who have been deemed and 
called '• squatters"' upon the public lands. To remove foi'cibly, by the 
use of the Army if it became necessary, a body of 5.000 to 7,000 ]>eople 
forfeiting their homes and improvements, is too harsh a proceeding to 
be c<uitemplated with equanimity. Such action wimld be justly criti- 
cised not only in this c<mutry, but in foreign countries. 

If these intruders should be removed from their homes, forfeiting the 
value of their improvements, the question arises as to who would become 
entitled to the property and the benefit of the improvements. They 
would doubtless be claimed by the Cherokee Nation, and would either 
be sold by the nation to persons who might occupy such improvements; 
or Cherokees, who might first file upon them and have their claims ac- 
knowledged by the nation, would become the proprietors and reap the 
benefit of the imx^i'^'^'^i^i^^^t'* created by tlie intruders. 

It seems to the committee but just and fair that if the intruders are 
to be removed with the loss of their improvements there should be 



b AGREEMENT WITH THE CHEROKEE INDIANS. 

some way proAicled by wliicli tlie Cherokee Nation sliould pay for the 
vahie of such improveineuts and be in a position to reimburse itself by 
the sale of them to such of its citizens as it might permit to occupy the 
same. 

In the opinion of the committee, however, intruder claimants who 
have come to the Cherokee Nation and made improvements since the 
11th day <»f August, 1886, can not claim to have acquired any etpiitable 
rights in which they ought to l)e protected. 

Commissioner Oberly. in his statement of the intruder question in a 
letter to the Secretary of the Interior, under date of June 7,1889, says: 

Since Au^iust 11, 1886, when the ayent was directed to discontinue the issuance 
of jirima facie certificates, persons claiuiinj: citizenship in the Cherokei' Nation 
have been warned, whenever the op]>ortunity was presented, that if they went into 
the nation and made improvements liefore their claims were in\ estigated au<l al- 
lowed l(y the authorities thereof they wouhl do so at their own risk; hut whei'e a 
party had entered the said natinu in Liood faith, helievin-r that he had rights there 
by blood pri(jr to tliat ilate. and was provided with a prima facie certificate, this 
otfice took a firm stand against his removal until some ))lan was adopted by which 
the Department should determine for itself whether he was an intruder or not and 
nntil he had been paid a fair valuation for his improvements. 

T|ie committee would, therefore, limit any provision looking to the 
comiiensation of intruders for their improvements to those who came 
prior to tlie date mentioned. 

With a view to ])reventing harsh action and any possible injustice 
in the removal (»f intruders, the connnittee reconmiend an amendment 
of the agreement relatiiig to the removal <tf intruders, so that before 
the r<Mnoval of any intriuler who came prior to the lltli day of August, 
1866j the value of liis improvements shall l)e ascertained by appiaisers 
appointed by tiie President of tlie United States, and ]»aid to him by 
the Clierokee Nation, sucli imi)rovements upon ])aynient therefor to 
become tlie i)ro]»erty of the Cherokee Nation. 

In testimony taken before tlie connnitt<'e, parties re])resenting the 
nation and the intruders alike stated that appioximately the sum of 
62.j0,(»00 would l)e a full cash value of all the ini[)rovenients made by 
.such intruders; and it seems to the <'ommittee that the Cherokee Na- 
tion can well afford to pay the Just value of such imi)rovements and 
become the owners thereof^ and that tlie same can be done witlumt 
ultimate h)ss to the nation. 

The committee can not rec-ommend the ratitlcation by the United 
States of the third paragraph of article 2 of the agreement to be per- 
formed on tlie part of the United States. That paragraph is as follows: 

Third. The judicial tribunals of the Cherokee Natiou shall have exclusive juris- 
diction in all civil and criminal cases arising in the Cherokee country, in which 
members of the Cherokee Natiou, by nativity or ado]ition, shall be the only parties. 

Tlie treaty oldigations of the Government to guaranty to the judi- 
cial tribunals of the ("lierctkee Nation exclusive jurisdiction in all civil 
and criminal cases arising in the Cherokee country between members 
of the Cherokee Nation, by birth or adoption, are delined by the follow- 
ing citations from treaties made with the Cherokees: 

Article 5 of the treaty of 183.") provides : 

Bat they (the United States) shall secure to the Cherokee Nation the right by their 
national councils to make arid carry into effect all sn<h laws as they may deem nec- 
essary for the government and jirotection of the persons and property within their 
own country, belonging to th(Mr jieoph- or such persons as have connecteil themselves 
with them: Proiided alu-ayn, That they shall not be inconsistent with the Constitu- 
tion of the United States and such acts of Congress as have been or may be passed 
regulating trade ami intercourse with the Indians; and, also, that they shall not be 
considered as extending to such citizens and Armv of the United States as may "travel 



AGREEMENT WITH THE CHEROKEE INDIANS. 7 

or reside in the Indian country by permission according to the hiws and regulations 
establisheil by the government of the same. 

IsTo direct guarauty appears in any subsequent treaty until the treaty 
of 1860, as far as the connnittee have been able t^o discover. In the 
treaty of 18()0 (14 Stats., p. 790) article 13 provides: 

The Cherokees also agree that a court or courts may be established by the United 
States in said Territory, with snch jurisdiction afid organized in such manner as 
may be prescribed by law: Prorided, That the judicial tril>unals of the nation shall 
be allowed to retain exclusive Jurisdiction in all civil and criminal cases arising 
within their country in which members of the nation, by nativity or adoption, shall 
be the only parties, or where the cause of action shall arise in the Cherokee Nation, 
except as otherwise provided in this treaty. 

Section .30 of the act "To provide a temporary government for the 
Territory of Oklahoma, to enlarge the jurisdiction of the Ignited States 
district court in the Indian Territory, and for other purposes," approved 
May 2, 1800, contains this proviso: 

Prorided, howcrer, That the judicial tribunals of the Indian nation shall retain 
exclusive .jurisdiction in all civil and criniinal cases arising in the country in which 
members of the nation by nativity or by adoption shall be the only i)artieR. 

It ^vill be observed that in the treaty of 1835 it was provided that 
the laws which might be made by the Cherokee Nation affecting the 
rights and luoperty of Indians and per.sons who had connected them- 
selves with them shoidd not be incon.sistent witli the Constitution of 
the United States and such acts of Congress as might be passed regu- 
lating trade and commerce with the Indians. It is further to be ob- 
served that in article 13 of the treaty of July 19, 186G, the word 
"retain"' was used, wiiich gave no added jurisdiction; and that in the 
act organizing the Territory of Oklahoma the word "retain" was used. 

Paragraph 3 of the agreement to be performed by the rnited States 
is a declaration that the Cherokee Nation shall '^liave" excln.sive juris- 
diction, etc. 

The paragraph omits the excei)tion contained in the treaty of 1835, 
that the laws which might be passe<l by the Cherokee Nation shall not 
be "inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States, and such 
acts of Congress as have been and may be passed regulating trade and 
commerce with tile Indians." Such exceptions weie incorporated in 
article lli of the treaty of 180(), so that the whole of ytaragraph 3 of 
article 2 of said agreement, as it stands, may give rise to the claim on 
the part of the Clierokee Nation that it is a new and substantial guar- 
anty by the United States of an enlarged jurisdiction in the courts of 
the Cherokee Nation. 

The committee do not believe that the United States ought to place 
itself where it can be claimed that it has guarantied any new or en- 
larged jurisdiction to the courts of the Cherokee Nation, or, indeed, 
that it is now reaffirming any guaranty of jurisdiction whatever, and 
are therefore of the ophiion that paragraph 3 ought to be eliminated 
from said agreement. For this opinion it gives the following reasons: 

The anomahms condition of live separate, independent Indian gov- 
ernments within tlie Government of the United States must soon, in 
the nature of tilings, cease. Each of the live civilized tribes, viz, 
the Chmokees, the Creeks, the Chickasaws, the Choctaws, and Semi- 
noles, has an independent government, claimed by the Indians to be as 
sovereign and secure in all respects, where exceptions have not been 
made by treaty, as the government of any foreign power. 

The guaranty which the United States gave to these Indian nations 
or tribes, under which these governments were established, grew out of 



8 AGREEMENT WITH THE CHEROKEE INDIANS. 

the policy, adopted by the British Government and maintained by tlie 
United States until 1871, of treating with the Indians as independent 
and foreign nations. That policy has been abandoned since 1871, l)ut 
the governments created in the case of the live civilized tri1)es, as they 
are called, remain. 

When these governments Avere established and guaranteed, to the 
extent that they were guai«aiiteed by the United States, they were in 
a remote section of the country, far removed from otlier settlements, 
with mo<lern means of travel and connnunication unknown, and with- 
out the slightest anticipation of the condition of things whicli now ex- 
ists. To-day they are surrounded by settled States and Territories; 
white citizens, by tlie ]»ermission of the Indians themselves, have been 
admitted into their territory, until now the white peo])le domiciled within 
the borders of the live civilized tribes outnumber the members of the 
tribes, and are lapidly increasing. 

Our whole policy of dealing with the Indians has changed. It is now 
the i>urpose of the Government to make tliem citizens as rapidly as 
possible, and to wi])e out the line of political distinction between an 
Indian (dtizen and other citizens of the Kepublic. And it nuist be evi- 
dent to all who observe the changed condition of our country, and ap- 
precuite the change in our ])olicy with regard to the Indians, that the 
day is rai»idly ap])roacl)iug when the Indians now constituting these 
indei)endent goAcrnments must be absor])ed and become a part of the 
United States. 

As to the means by which this desired end is to be reached, the com- 
mittee has at the ])resent time no definite suggestions to make. It 
simply points to the admitted fact, acknowledged by Indians and non- 
Indians alike, that the change nuist soon come. It would be, there- 
fore, in the oi)iniou of the committee, extremely impolitic to enter at 
this time into any new o])ligation looking to the continuance of the 
independent jurisdiction, either ])olitical or judicial, of these '• nations." 

Without the new guaranty proi»osed by paragraph -3, the Indian 
tribunals will retain all the rights which they now possess; with it the 
claim would probably be made that that jurisdiction had been enlarged. 



It is believeil that a considerable number of Cherokee citizens wouhl 
be glad at the present time to take land in severalty, and thus become 
fully clothed with Uuited States citizenship. Tlie committee, tliere- 
fore, recommends a section consenting thereto as an amendment to 
the bill. 

With reference to the present relations between the United States 
Govennnent and the live civilized tribes, and the advantages to be 
derived by the Indians as well as the United States by the surrender 
of such governments and their inc(n])oration into our system, the com- 
mittee submits the following summary: 

(1.) Clierolce.-i.—ln the preamble to the treaty ot May 0, 1828, the 
United States guar.jutees the Cherokee jSTation, in their lands west of the 
Mississippi, ;i permanent home "that shall never, in all future time, be 
embarrassed by haxing extended aronnd it the lines, or pla-ed over it 
the jurisdiction of a Territory or State, nor be pressed upon by the ex- 
tension, in anv way, of any of the limits of any existing Territory or 
State" (7 Stats., p." 311). By the tiftli article of the treaty of December 
29, 1835, the United States agreed that the lands ceded to'the Cherokees 
by that treaty should, in no future time, ichhout their consent, be in- 
cluded within the territorial limits or jurisdiction of any State or Ter- 



AGREEMENT WITH THE CHEROKEE INDIANS, 9 

ritory. But they sliould secure to the Cherokee Nation the right, by 
their national councils, to make and carry into effect all such laws as 
they might deem necessary for the government and protection of the 
persons and property Avithin their oAvn country belonging to their 
people, or such persons as had connected themselves Avith them, if not 
inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States and such acts 
of Congress as had been or might be passed, regulating trade and in- 
tercourse with tlie Indians (7 Stats., p. 481). By the seventh article of 
said treaty it is sti])ulated that the Cherokee Xation "shall be entitled 
to a Delegate in tlie House of Eepresentativcs of the XTnited States 
whenever Congress shall make provision for the same " (p. 482). 

By the second article of the treaty of August (5, 1846, it is provided 
that "laws shall be passed for equal protection, and for the security 
of life, liberty, and property; and full authority shall be given by law 
to all or any portion of the Cherokee people, peaceably to assemble and 
petition their own government, or the G-overnment of the United States, 
•for the redress of grievances, and to (liscuss their rights^'' (9 Stats., p. 
872). The laws provided in this article, it is presumed, are such as 
were thereafter to be enacted by the Cherokee council. 

The fourth and fifth articles of the treaty of ]8<»(> contain stipulations 
concerning Cherokees, freed i^ersons, and free negroes who may elect 
to reside in a specified district within the Cherokee domain, and the 
sixth article i)rovides as follows: 

The inlialjitiuits of the Siiid district hereinbefore described shall be entitled to 
representation aceordinj;- to the number in tln^ national eouueil, and all laws of the 
Cherokee Nation shall )>e uniform throughout said nation; and should any such law, 
either in its provisions or in the manm-r of its enforcement, in the opinion of the 
President of the United States, o])erate unjustly or iujurionsly in said district, he is 
hereby authorized and emi)Owered to correct sucli evil, an<l to adopt the means nec- 
essary to secure the impartial administration of J iisticc as well as a fair and eijuitable 
apidication and expenditure of the national funds as between the people of this and 
•every other district in said nation. (14 Stats., 800.) 

In article 12 the Cherokees give their consent to a general council 
consisting of delegates elected by each nation or tribe hiwfullj^ residing 
within the Indian Territory, to be annually convened in said Territory, 
with powers as therein i)rescribed. The sixth subdivision of this article 
reads as follows : 

The members of said council shall be paid by the United States the sum of four 
dollars per diem durin*;- the term actually in atten<lance on the sessions of said 
council, and at the rate of four dollars for every twenty miles necessarily traveled 
by them in going from and returning to their homes, res])ectively, from said council, 
to be certified bv the secretary and president of the said council. (Ibid., 803.) 

The twenty-second article provides for the survey and allotment ot 
their lands whenever the national muiicil sh'alJ request it. {Ibid.., 803.) 

By the twenty-sixth article the Cherokees are guaranteed peaceable 
possession of their country and protection against domestic feuds, in- 
surrectit»ns, hostile tribes, and intrusion from all unauthorized citizens 
of the United States ; and by the thirty-lirst article thereof it is expressly 
stipulated that nothing therein contained shall be construed as a 
relinquishment by the Cherokee Nation of any claims or demands un- 
der the guaranties of former treaties, except as therein expressly pro- 
vided, (p. 805.) 

(2) Chickasaivs. — By the second article of the treaty of May 24, 1834, 
the United States consented to protect and defend them in their home 
west of the Mississippi, when selected, against the inroads of any other 
tribe of Indians, and from whites, and agreed to keep them without the 
limits of any State or Territory. (7 Stats., p. 450.) 



10 AGREEMENT WITH THE CHEROKEE INDIANS, 

By the seventli article of the Joint treaty of Ai>ril 28. ISOC, with the 
Choctaws. the Chiokasaws and Chocta^vs agreed to such legislatiou as 
t'onjrress aud the President of the United States might deem necessary 
for the better ;Mlministration of justice and the protection of the rights 
of person and property within the Indian Territory: rrorideil. hotcever. 
That sui-h legishitiou slioukl not in anywise interfere with or annul their 
present respective legislatures or judiciaries or the rights, laws, privi- 
leges, or customs of said nations, respectively. (14 Stats., p. 771.) 

This eighth article provided for a national couucil of the various 
tribes of Indian Territ<ny. and the ninth clause thereof stipulates that 
•• whenever Congress shall authorize the appointment of a delegate trom 
said Territory it shall be the province of said couucil to select one from 
among the nations represented in said toum-ir' (p. 77.|). 

The eleventh article provides tor the survey and allotment of their 
lands, whenever their national councils shouhl request it (p. 774). The 
Chickasaws did by their legislative couin-il give said assent, but the 
Choctaw council has never agreetl thereto, the tenure of the lands be- 
ing such as to reipiire joint and concurrent action of the two bodies. 

(3) ChiK-tmrs. — The fourth article of tlie treaty of September 27. 
ISoO. granted the Choctaw Xation of Indians exclusive jurisdiction and 
self-government over the persons aud property of the nation, so that 
no Territory or State slu»uld ever have a right to pass laws fm^the gov- 
ernment of that nation and their descentlants: and that no part of the 
land granted them should evei' l)e embraced in any Territory or State, 
and further would secure forever said nation from and against all laws 
excejtt such as trom time to time might be enacted in their own na- 
tional Council, not inconsistent with the Constitution, treaties, and laws 
of the United States and exce]>t such as might be enacted by Congress 
in exercising legislation over Indian atfaiis as reipiired by the Consti- 
tution. (7 Stats., p. 333.) 

By the fifth article the United States guarantees protection to said 
Indians from d(»mestic strife and foreign enemies, on the same x>rinci- 
ples t'.iat the citizens of the United States are i)rotected (p. 334). and 
by the twenty-second article the Choi-taws express •• a solicitude that 
they might liave the jirivilege of a delegate <m the tloor of the House 
of Representatives exteude<l to them (p. 338). 

By the seventh article of the joint treaty of April 28. 18* JO, tliey 
agree with the Cliickasaws to the legislation hereiubefore recited un- 
der the head "Chickasaw." Provision for a Delegate to Congress is 
set fortli in the eighth article, and for survey and allotment of lauds 
in the eleventh article of said joint treaty. (See Chickasaw.) 

(4) Creeks. — By the fourteenth article o^" the treaty of March 24, 1832, 
the Creek Xation of Indians are gniarauteed a i>atent for their lands 
west of the Mississippi, agreeably to the third section of the act of 
Congress of ]May 2 (28), 18-30: also that no State or Territory should 
ever have a right to pass laws for the government of said Indians, but 
that they should be allowed to govern themselves, so far as might be 
compatible with the t/entrni jiiris(llcti(ni irhlch Congress rnir/ht thinic 
proiier to erercist- over them. (7 Stats., p. 308.) 

The fourth article of the joint treaty of August 7. 18.j«;. with the 
Creek and Seminole Indians provides that no State or Territory shall 
pass laws for said tribes, and no portion (tf their lands defined in said 
treaty shall ever be embraced or included within or annexed to any 
Territory or State, n(»r shall either or any part of either ever be 
erected into a Territory icithout the f nil and free vonnent of the legisUitive 
authority of the tribe owning the same. (1 Stats., \}. 700.) 

The fifteenth article of said treaty secures the unrestricted right of 



AGREEMENT WITH THE CHEROKEE INDIANS. 11 

self-government aucl full jiiris^dictiou over person and property witlim 
tlielr respective limits, excepting all white persons with their X)roi)erty 
who are not, by adoption or otherwise, members of either the Creek or 
Seminole tribe, so far as may be compatible with the Constitution of 
the United States and the laws made in pursuance thereof regulating- 
trade and interccnirse with the Indian tribes (p. TOo). 

The eighteenth article jn-ovides for the i)rotection of said tribes ot 
Indians from domestic strife, hostile invasion, and aggression by other 
Indians or white persons not subject ^o their jurisdiction and law 
(p. 7<U). 

By the tenth article of the treaty of June 14:, 180(1, the Creeks ngree 
to such legislation as ( 'ong'ress and the President of the United States 
may deem necessary for the better administration of justice and the 
protection of the riglits of i)erson and property within the Indian Ter- 
ritory: Proridf'd, hoirerer, That said legislation shall not in any man- 
ner interfere with or annul their present tribal organization, rights,. 
laws, privileges, and customs. (14 Stats., }». 78.S.) 

(5) Semiiiole.s. — By the seventh article of the treaty of March 21, 
18t)(!, the Semiuolcs agree to such legislation as Congress and the 
President of the United States may deem necessary for the better ad- 
ministration of justice and the jn'otection of the rights of person and 
property within the Indian Territory: Froridefi, That said legislation 
shall not in any manner interfere with or annul their ])reseut trfl);il or- 
ganization, rights, laws, ])rivi]eges, and customs. (14 Stats., ]>. 758.) 

Neither the Creeks nor Seniinoles in any joint treaty, nor by this 
treaty of 18(i<i, express any desire or wishu]V)n the subject of a Dele- 
gate to ( 'ongress. 

The Creeks having, on the 10th of July, lsr»l ; the Choctaws and 
Chickasaws on the 12th of July, 1S«!1 ; the Seniinoles <m the 1st of 
August. 18(11, aiid the Cherokees on the 7th of October, ISill, made 
treaties, resjjectively, with the Confederate States, the President, by the 
Indian a])propriation act of July .">, 18(;2 (12 Stats., p. .*ii*8), was au- 
thorized by pro;'hu!iation to (h'clare all treaties existing between the 
United States and said tribes to be abrogated if, i i his o])in!on. it 
could b(^ done consisteutlv with good faith and legal and national obli- 
gati<ms. (See R. S., 2(>S()'). 

XoC desiring to take advantage of (U- to enforce the penalties therein 
authorized, the President, in September, 18(15, appointed a commission 
empowered to nmke new treaties with the tribes residing in the Indian 
Territ(»ry, upon a basis cimtaining seven proi^ositions, the sixth of 
which was that — 

It is the ]K)licy ot" the (4oveiuineiit, unless other arrangements be made, that all the 
nations and tribes in the Indian Territory be formed into one c»msolidated govern- 
ment after the plan proposed by the Senate of the United States in a bill t'ov organiz- 
ing the Indian 'Ilerritory. 

The representatives of the various tribes were assembled at Fcu't 
Smith and signed what is known as the Fort Smith treaty — made pre- 
liminary to the subsequent treaties of 18(>6. 

The Cherokees held that— 

The consolidation of a\l the nations and tribes in the Indian Territory into one 
government is open to serions objection. There are so many, and in some instances 
antagonistic, grades of tastes, cnstoms, and enlightenment that to throw the whole 
into one heterogeneous government would be productive of inextricable confusion; 
the plan proposed by the United States Senate may obviate the difficulties wliicli 
now appear so patent to us. (See Annual Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs 
for 1865, p. 306.) 



12 AGREEMENT WITH THE CHEROKEE INDIANS. 

The Cliickasaws reported — 

Wc tliouglit the GoA'crniiieut Avonkl first make a treaty of peace with ns all. In- 
dians are dittereiit I'rom Avhites. They are vindictive ; hatred lasts long with them. 
Not so with whites. The Government mnst settle the ditiKcnlty; the Indians can 
not. That done let ns be centralized, and a government esta1>lislied in the Indian 
Territory (p. 317). 

The Creeks reported tliat: 

As to a Territorial form of g.overnment, we have to say that we ktiow hnt little, 
liut prefer our tribal condition (p. 341). 

The loyal Creeks signified to the Commissioner their entire assent to 
most of the propositions, inchiding Territorial govern meiit (p. 341). 

The Seminoles consented to the sixth proposition, then afterwards 
rescinded their acti(m, and asked that the question stand open for fu- 
ture consideration (i). 351). 

In the subsequent treaties made in 18(>(i the Choctaws and Ohicka- 
saws by the seventh article, the Creeks by the tenth article, and the 
Seminoles by the seventh article, agreed^ 

To such legislation as Congress and the President of the I'nited States may deem 
necessary for the better administration of justice and the protection of the rights of 
person and property within the Indian Territory: I'rorided, hou-en-r, That such leg- 
islation shall not in anywise interfere with or annul their jtresent tribal organiza- 
tion, or their respective legislatures or Judiciaries, or the rights, laws, priyileges, 
or cnstgnjs. 

Under the provision of these treaties the Indians have agreed that 
Congress may legislate for the better administration of justice and the 
protection of the rights of property and person within the limits of the 
present Indian Teriitory, so far as it relates to tlie Choctaw, Chicka- 
saw, Creek, and Seminole Indians. 

Census Bulletin Xo. 25 gives the population of the five civilized tribes, 
including colored Indian citizens and claimants, as 6f>,289, as follows: 

Cherokee Indians 25. 357 C(dored 4, 242 Total 29, 599 

Chickasaw Indians 3,464 do 3,718 do 7,182 

Ctoctaw Indians 9,996 do 4,401 do 14,397 

Creek Indians 9,291 do 5,341 do 14,632 

Seminole Indians 2, .539 do 22 do 2,561 

68, 371 
Deduct number of colored ]>ersoiis probably not members of tribes 

(estimated) , ' 3, .500 

64,871 

Indians other than Chickasaws in that nation 1, 161 

Indians other than Choctaws in that nation 257 

Population of the five civilized tribes: 

Indians 52, 065 

Colored Indi;in citizens and claimants 14,224 



Total 66,289 

The same bulletin discloses the fact that there are white and colored 
persons not Indians, or recognized as members of the Indian nations 
within the limits of the five civilized tribes, as foRows: 

AVhite persons in — 

Cherokee Nation 27, 176 

Chickasaw Nation 49, 444 

Choctaw Nation 27, 991 

Creek Nation J 3, 280 

Seminole Nation 96 



107, 989 
Colored persons in the five civilized tribes, probably not members of 

the tribes (estimated) - - - 3, 500 

Chinese in the Chickasaw Nation 6 

Total : 111,493 



AGREEMENT WITH THE CHEROKEE INDIANS. 



13 



The following' table sliows the amount of hind to which each iiian, 
wouian^ and chikl wouhl be entitled if the hnnls were divided in sev- 
eralty: 

Stuteincitt ><Jioiruig per iaptia dhtrihiiliini of ihc icholr nxcrrarKiii (iiiioii.;/ tin pi-oj.h' of 

the rc!>2}e(tire trihex. 



Cherokees . . 
Chickasaws 
Cboctaws . . 

Creeks 

Seiiiiiioles . . 









If to iirrsons of In- 






dian lilood anil to 






the colored pcTson.s 




It lo inrsous ol In- 


clainiiu;; ri;;lits m 


Alfa of 


dian Moixl only. 


the ri-spi'ctive 


till' TCSI'V- 




tribes, as set out 


vatioji. 




in Census Bulletin 
No. 25. 




Popula- 


Acres to 


I'opula- Acres to 




tion. 


each. 
198.4 


tiou. 


each. 


5, 031, 351 


25.357 


29,55d 


170 


*4. 650, 935 


3, 404 


1. 342. « 


7, 182 


647.5 


*6. 088. 000 


9,990 


669 


14, 397 


464.4 


3, 040, 495 


9. 291 


327. 3 


14, 632 


207. 7 


375, 000 


2, .539 


147,7 


2, .561 


146,4 



' The lauds held liy the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians are held by them in common with rijfhts 
and interests as reco'snized in their treaties as follows : The Choelaws, three-fourths ; the (Jhickasaws, 
one-fourth. 



At the breaking- out of the rebellion the live civilized tribes entered 
into treaties with the Confederate States, so called, and it was claimed 
had forfeited treaty rights. 

But by the new treaties, however, former treaty rights, not inconsist- 
ent with the treaties of 18G0, were restored and guaranteed by the 
United States. 

At this time it seemed to be the policy of the Government to make 
an exclusive Indian Territory, to which should be removed other In- 
dians, so that the whole Territory sliould become tilled with Indian 
tribes alone. This policy of the Government seems to have included 
the idea of a Territorial government, in which all of the tribes which 
might occupy the Indian Territory, as well as the live civilized nations, 
should have representation after the manner of other Territorial organ- 
izations. 

The territory which was to be thus organized into what might be 
called a distinctly Indian government was, until the organization of 
the Territory of Oklahoma, marked upon our maps and known as the 
Indian Territory, deriving that name from the plan of the Territorial 
organization already alluded to. 

. An article was inserted in each of the treaties made with the live civil- 
ized tribes in 18G6, by which they consented to become members of 
such Indian Territorial government. This article in the Cherokee 
treaty is article 12, and is identical with similar articles found in the 
other treaties. The president of the legislative council was to be des- 
ignated by the Secretary of the Interior. 

The plan thus proposed was never carried into execution; and a 
large part of the lands (probably more than one-half) which, under the 
policy then mapped out, were to have been oc(;upied by Indian tribes 
and consolidated into one Territorial government, has been opened for 
settlement, and now comprises the Territory of Oklahoma. It is essen- 
tial to bear in mind this policy of the Government, and the consent of 
the live civilized tribes, as expressed in said treaties, for a thorough 
and correct understanding of many of the provishms found in those 
treaties. 



14 AGREEMENT WITH THE CHEROKEE INDIANS. 

That the present anomalous couditioii can not continue forever must 
be apparent to everyone. The day is passed when these Indians can 
be kept to and by themselves, free from the intermingling of whites. 
They have themv^elves allowed and invited white ])ersons to come 
among tliem, until now the white people outnumber them. 

The reason of the guaranty, which was undoubtedly that it was 
believed best that they should 'oe permitted to live and dwell by 
themseh'es, has long since ceased to exist. It is believed that the In- 
dians themselves feel that the time is rapidly approaching when they 
must become citizens of a State. Doubtless many of them would pre- 
fer to have that time delayed. But the logic of events is rapidly has- 
teidng the time when this question must be solved. Better qaalitied 
to become citizens than any other Indians in the United States, the 
vsooner these Indians take their lands in severalty and assume all the 
responsibilities and enjoy all the privileges of citizens, both of the 
nation and of a State, the better it will be for them, in the judgment of 
the comndttee. 

It is to be hoped that such a result may be obtained without viola- 
tion of treaties, and with the full consent of the Indians. 

The (piestion for providing a different government for the territory 
t)ccui»ied by these Indians is not a new one. 

Senator .McDonald, in his report from the Committee on Territories 
on this subject on the 27th of Ajiril, 1870, says : 

It is ill coDSOuauee with tlie new policy uf tlie Government born of the war and 
lu.'^tnred by the tifteenth amendment, that no alien race shall exist npon our soil ; all 
shall be citizens, iiTesi)ective of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

It is a part of the inexorable loyic of the times that the Indian must ada]»t himself 
to the rights and duties of citizenship. He must wield the franchise antl fultill the 
obligations impose<l thereby ; otherwise he will iiradnally disai>i>ear as the waste 
soil becomes more and more al)Sorbe(l by the iucreasinj> necessities of a<iricnlture. 
'^ * ~ Then, as a matter of t-conomy to the Goverujuent and the Indian nation, 
as a sim])le act of Justice and fair play to the Indians, and to carry out in good faith 
the stipulations of the treaties of 1866, it is urgently recommended. * - - -j^j^g 
legislation contemidated ^ ^ ^ ^yju afford ample remetly for serious evils com- 
plained of by thi' Indians, will be a measure of protection fully adequate to their 
necessities, and will be a large advance toward their complete civilization. (See 
•Senate Report 131, Forty-first Congress, second session.) 

Senator Xye, in a report made (ni a bill for the organization of In- 
dian Territory, on the 1st of February, 1871, declared: 

That the jtresent government of thisTerritory is no longer a suitable one is univer- 
sally admitted; that it is inadequate to the jtroper protection of life and of proptrty 
among the Indians in their present advanced condition is not denied. Not only is its 
continuance earnestly protested against by thepeople of the bortlering States, but the 
Indians themselves admit its unfitness and demand a change and the change which 
theypropose is in the directioiLoftheestablishmentofa .stronger central authority with 
fnllerandmore direct control. ^ - ^ In order that this Territory may be i)rosperous 
it must not only be well governed 1>ut the development of its resources must be encour- 
aged, or at least made possilile. No proposition is better established in the American 
mind than that the welfare of a State and the happiness of its citizens require that the 
lands be held in private ]troprietorship and in tracts sutiiciently small that each may l)e 
cultivated and managed in person by its individual owner. Any system which does not 
encourage this is bad, and any which actually ]>rohibits it will not long be tolerated. 
* * * Where there is no iiKliridual ])roperty there will lie no considerable indi- 
vidual industry. If the Indian is to be civilized he must learn to work, and no man 
will work cheerfully without the spur of competition and incentive of acquiring 
wealth. The common good of a large connuunity, the public welfare, are ideas too 
vague to insjiire jiersonal etfort exce))t wirh very few, even in the highest stages of 
civilization. To the masses they furnish no incentive to toil. And of all species of 
proi)erty whose acquisition stimulates exertion, the soil is first in rank. This alone 
gives a home. The opjiortunity to acquire in absolute unconditional proprietorship 
a tract of land, by the cultivation of which the individujil can be supported in inde- 
pendence and the family reared in comfort, is the highest motive to effort which can 
be proposed. (See Senate Rei)ort No. 336, Forty-tirst Congress, third session.) 



AGREEMENT WITH THE CHEROKEE INDIANS. 15 

One objection heretofore made by tlie Indian^s of the five civilized 
tribes to taking- lauds in severalty has been that all the patents wliich 
have conveyed to them their lands have contained a clause that the 
lands should reAcrt to the United States if the tribe shouhl become 
extinct or abandon the same. And the fear lias been expressed that if 
the tribal government should l)e abandoned upon the aUotment of laud 
in severalty it might be construed into an extinction <»f the tribe and 
work a reversion of the land; or if when allotted in severalty i)articular 
parcels should be abandoned by the aHottees tliey might be claimed by 
the Govei'nment of the United States. 

While the committee think that this fear is groundless it wcmld be 
entirely proper for the Government to enact that in case of the allot- 
ment of lands in severalty to the individual members of these nations, 
the (Tovernment would relinquisli all of its reserved rights to the lands. 

The committee reconmiends that the bill be amended as follows, and 
recommend its passage as amended. 

After the word "States," in line 7 of section 1 of the bill, insert the 
following: 

And tlie acts of Congress that have been or may Vie passed regulating trade and 
intercourse with the Indians, subject however to amendments of said agreement, as 
follows : 

Add to the first paragraph of article 2 of said agreement the following 
proviso : 

And 2»'<»'>(^i'd fiii'ther, That before any intruder or unauthorized person occupying 
houses, lands, or improvements, commenced before the eleventh day of August, 
eighteen hundred and eighty-six, shall be removed therefrom upon the demand of 
the principal chief, or otherwise, the value of his im])roveuients, as the same shall 
be ai)praised by a Ixiard of three appraisers to be a}>pointed by the President of the 
United States for that purpose, shall be ])aid by him to the Cherokee Nation; and 
upon such payment such improvements shall become the property of the Cherokee 
Nation. 

Strike out paragraph 3 of article 2 of said agreement, and change 
the numbers of the subsequent paragraphs to correspond. 
After the word "that," in line 1 of section 2, insert: 

To pay for the services of the appraisers, to l>e appointed as provided in article 
one of the amended agreement, at a rate not exceeding ten dollars per day for the 
time actually employed by each appraiser, and their reasonable expenses, and." 

Strike out in line 4 of section 2 the words "the first subdivision." 
Strike out in line 5 of section 2 the word " two" and insert "one." 
In the same line and section strike out "three" and insert "five." 
Add section 6, as follows: 

The consent of the United States is hereby given to the allotment of land in sever- 
alty within the limits of the country occupied by the Clierokees, Creeks, Choctaws, 
Chickasaws, and Semiuoles; and ujiou such allotments the individuals to whom the 
same may be allotted shall be deemed to be in all respects citizens of the United 
States. And the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be 
necessary, is hereby appropriated to pay for the survey of any such lauds as may be 
allotted by any of said tribes of Indians to individual members of said tribes. And 
upon the allotment of the lands held by said tribes, respectively, the reversionary 
interest of the United States therein shall be relinquished and shall cease. 



) 



LIBRARY OF CONGREs" 




